The new year is here and the possibilities for a better and more exciting year abound in spades. You can do something far outside the bounds of your comfort zone and go skydiving, hit the gym to shed extra pounds, sample exotic foods, or, simply put, just have a great time on occasion with friends and family.

In Southern California, especially, Disneyland is known as the place to fulfill expectations of merriment, but there is another locale very much worth visiting that offers something very different, though no less tremendous, than Mickey Mouse and company. That place is Universal Studios Hollywood – and there are 7 compelling reasons why you should take your friends and/or family for a day of unmatched jubilation.

The King Kong 360 3-D experience during the Studio Tour

The studio tour is 60 minutes of incredible unpredictability and joy. There is one moment in particular, however, when your charming tour guide will take you through a quasi tunnel. A short video introduction by director Peter Jackson will then precede you putting on your 3-D glasses. Then, what will transpire quickly thereafter will be an all-encapsulating fight between King Kong and T-Rex that will nearly engulf your bus. Watch out for the dinosaur slobber!

Universal’s Animal Actors

Seriously, who doesn’t love animals, right? This 20-25 minute extravaganza will feature rodents, a cat, beautiful dogs, birds, and even a pig! The animals are so lovable, and, certainly, the staff of experts on hand do their job of making the experience a wonderful one. Audience participation, particularly from the kids in the bleachers, makes this show even cuter. By the end of it, you’ll wish your dogs were as well-behaved!

Photo Credit: taketours.com

The Simpsons Ride

This ride offers a delightful palette of colors while at the same time giving one an inside glimpse of cartoon characters who happen to be American icons, The Simpsons. You’ll truly feel like you’ve been zapped into one of Bart’s friends and that your real, human world has been transformed into a gorgeously animated one!

WaterWorld

Photo Credit: UniversalStudiosHollywood.com

Have you ever wanted a live-action movie to come to life right before your eyes? The plot here is amazing, as you have your eye-patched antagonist who causes oodles lot havoc with his band of evil men and machine guns. They are thwarted by a cool female hero and her half-man/half-fish partner in a back-and-forth battle on the sea that results in a multitude of explosions, individuals free-falling into the water, and a finale with a plane that will make your jaw drop.

Transformers: The Ride

Photo Credit: VacationPassage.com

Do you want to save the world? Do you want to be caught in the middle of an epic duel between Megatron and Optimus Prime that spans an entire city? Do you want to experience the ultimate in 3-D technology? If you answered yes to the above questions, then this ride is for you. It is, more or less, one of the most eye-opening rides you’ll ever experience given how much you’ll feel part of the action! You’re going to be so close to it that you’ll literally feel the heat!

Now, these two happen at separate times during the studio tour, but are so astonishing in scope in their own way, that they are equally exhilarating.

You might think your tour guide is trusting and disarming, but he or she will just lead you to one precarious situation after another, and, unsurprisingly, you’ll be all the happier for it. One of these “predicaments” is when you’re taken to a stage where a subway (used in TV shows like Bones, for example) is very realistically set up. Before you know it, there is an 8.3 earthquake, a fire, caved in asphalt, flying/crashing cars, and a gargantuan, gushing stream of water headed toward you! Suffice it to say, it’s a horrifyingly terrific experience.

Next up, is the finale of the studio tour, and features the stars of the Fast & Furious films. What turns out to be just a group of 3D-rendered girls dancing actually becomes an all-out escapade of epic proportions featuring The Rock, Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, and more. Once again, the patron here feels like a participant in the rollicking ambiance and high-adrenaline rush of speeding vehicles, trucks, and helicopters!

Revenge of The Mummy Ride

Most of us love museums, but very few of us have seen thousand-year-old mummies come to life and curse us with uncontrollable glee. One can only be so lucky! Truth be told, this ride, which is a menagerie of the most life-alteringly vivid mummies, will accelerate you into a dark abyss of unbridled satisfaction before hurtling you backwards with impunity! It goes without saying that the twists and turns – and sheer speed – are so delightful, that you’ll want to revisit your mummified doom over and over again!